November 2011

November 28, 2011

Got this shirt for my hubby (shhh it's a Christmas present) from Disney. It gets me laughing every time!

The part on the left is the front of the shirt. The picture of yoda says "You must be this tall to ride this ride." I love that yoda is wearing a Mickey hat and eating a Mickey bar! I think it's especially ironic since my husband is actually quite tall.

Love blossoms in the warm Hawaiian sun, but something sinister lurks in the silent sea. When a missile test goes off-course, destroying a tourist boat and killing several passengers, dolphin researcher Kaia Ohana is called upon by Navy security head Jesse Matthews to help in the stalled investigation. Is sloppy science at fault---or sabotage and terrorism?

My Thoughts:

I read this book while I was on the plane to Florida! I thought it was a nice storyline, with cool dolphins; but, in all honesty, it felt kind of choppy to me. More and more I expect a lot from the books I read, and there wasn't a nice flow to this one, in my opinion. The characters would go from conflict to resolution without much explanation; or from love to separated back to love without flow. The action was nice, but not the well-developed plot I was hoping for. A nice read overall.

November 12, 2011

Just saying hello and letting you know I'm here, but haven't been reading much lately. Too many other projects going on. This week I was getting caught up on our family photo albums. I hadn't updated them since 2007, so I had a bit to do.

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November 08, 2011

So basically I just make a list of whatever 10 things I want to and link up to the Oh Amanda blog!

Today I seem to have a lot of worries. I'm trying not to worry so much. Today I am placing my Top Ten worries before God and trusting He knows about them and will take care of them, no matter how big or small the worries are. Here they are:

I'm worried about:

1. My middle-school girl's friendship heartaches and her longing to have close friends who care about her and aren't afraid to tell her.

2. My youngest's school work insecurities.

3. My husband's job.

4. A new web design job I have that I can't seem to get off the ground.

5. An upcoming event that I am dreading.

6. My oldest daughter's schedule and how to manage her desire to be involved in EVERYTHING.

7. My own continued health struggles.

8. Finances. Enough said.

9. My children's Bible education and how to provide for that knowing they won't get it at school.

For Detective Roland March, his latest case has become personal. March doesn't know the young female who was stabbed to death, but he thinks he recognizes the crime scene. Nearly ten years ago, March gained national fame as the subject of a true-crime book. But now this crime scene bears eerie similarities to that one. And whispers begin to emerge that March may have put the wrong man behind bars.

Worse, Houston may now have a serial killer on the loose. As more cases emerge that seem connected, and threats against March and those closest to him build, he must solve the case--rescuing not only the city but his own reputation as a homicide cop.

My Thoughts:

I really liked this book. Truthfully, I didn't expect to like it. And, it's a lot to take in. I had to concentrate while reading it to remember the different characters and how they fit into to whole story, but it was worth the brain power. It was gritty and interesting and believable. I look forward to the next book in the series!

November 03, 2011

I just wanted to share my excitement with you that I get to be a judge for the mystery/thriller category of the INSPY Awards this year! So, that's why I haven't been posting as many reviews on this blog lately, because I've been reading and re-reading the books nominated in the mystery/thriller category.

I have to apologize that my series died out a bit in the end. I had the best of intentions, but life got in the way a bit, including a nasty bout with the stomach flu.

31 days is really a short amount of time to change one's whole history of beliefs about a topic. But I wanted to. I wanted to come to the end of October with a whole new outlook about food and faith and how they work together. And, while I didn't find all the answers, I do find that my outlook is changing.

Here's few things I learned this month:

1. each decision about food, how I spend my time, what I focus on, etc. is part of of bigger journey and those decisions can add up to something bigger

2. prayer is a powerful way redirect my tendency to dwell on the things I shouldn't

3. fresh starts are possible at any moment

4. it's not so much about what I eat as it is how much I think about it and "worship" it

5. anything can become an idol when it's value is placed above God

6. when something unimportant is becoming too important in my life, fasting from it can be a good way to reset my "normal" in relationship to that thing

7. God loves me no matter the number on a scale

Thanks to those of you who took this journey with me. I'm sure I will have more to say on this subject somewhere down the line.

My Mission with this blog

It is my mission with this blog to introduce others to Christian fiction and all the things that reading a story can teach us about faith, hope, peace, love, and our Lord. Afterall, Jesus Himself often used stories to give powerful lessons. I also will be including some of my craft projects here as well.